


A Speech to Remember Her By

by CaptainSaku



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Angst, Funeral, Gen, Major character death - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-15
Updated: 2015-12-15
Packaged: 2018-05-06 22:18:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5432825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainSaku/pseuds/CaptainSaku
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The war is over, and with it, so is the life of Commander Shepard. Her loss weighs heavy on the hearts of the galaxy, but it weighs especially heavy on her best friend. At her funeral, he finds himself forced to give a speech. This is the result.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Speech to Remember Her By

**Author's Note:**

> Once again, meme prompts from over at theroguesniper! Quite a heartbreaking one, this time. Do have your tissues at the ready.
> 
> Prompt: Send me a ‘go on without me’ and I’ll write a short drabble as my muse at your muse’s funeral
> 
> There's two versions of this very same meme. This is what I call the "best friends" edition. Coming soon: the "lovers" edition.

“Commander Shepard has been and will always be an… inspiration… to us…” Garrus looked down at the stack of notes he’d been handed to read at Shepard’s memorial. He hadn’t had the chance to read any of them. He had been accosted by Hackett as soon as he had gotten there. The Admiral had handed him the notes and ushered him to the microphone, quite against his will, and now all eyes were trained on him. He had lost his best friend in the entire damn galaxy, and they expected him to give a ready-made speech without his consent?

Fuck that. Fuck that to the other side of the veil and back.

The notes were cold and carefully calculated, each word measured to perfection. No feelings, just hard facts. Shepard deserved so much better than this bullshit.

“You know what?” he said all of a sudden, looking out at the attendees, those select few who had been graced with the opportunity of attending Shepard’s funeral. Politicians, ambassadors, people of power. It was sickening. The front row, however, was reserved for Shepard’s friends –Shepard’s _family_ – and all it took him was a simple glance at them to know he was going to do the right thing. Raising the stack of notes in a defiant gesture, he showed them to the audience. “These were given to me in hopes that I would play nice and read their speech. And to you, standing here today to pay Shepard tribute, I say: fuck that.” He tossed the notes over his shoulder, not missing the way Hackett had half-risen from his chair, looking dumbstruck.

“I can guarantee you, Shepard would have hated every damn word on those damn cards. She deserves better than that. You are all here today to hear about Commander Shepard, the great savior of the galaxy.” He shook his head, mandibles fluttering as he struggled to contain a bitter laugh.

“Well, I got news for you. Shepard was none of those things. Don’t you dare for a second reduce Shepard to a damn hero, a byproduct of the war. She was my best friend, you know? So let me tell you about Shepard. Not the hero, not the Commander, not the vanquisher of Saren Arterius or the destroyer of the collectors. Not even the savior of the damn galaxy. Don’t give me that look, Admiral, you should have known better than to give me this task.” Having caught Hackett looking murderous, he directed his last comment at him and paused, staring at the Alliance Admiral until he had slowly sunk back into his seat.

“I will tell you about Shepard. She was a person, like all of us were. Damn fine soldier, I’ll give you that. Hell of a shot, too. But what nobody ever tells you about these heroes who gave their lives for all of us is that they, too, have their flaws and faults. Most of you must think of Shepard as made of steel. She did stand by her duty. But you are all mistaken if you think for a damned minute that this war did not affect her. I was with her from day one. I was there when Saren went rogue and have stuck by her side to the bitter end. Not many of us can say that.” Garrus looked down to where Tali, Liara, Wrex and Kaidan were sitting. “But to those of us who can, Shepard was so much more than you half-wits make her out to be. You see, if it weren’t for Shepard, most of us wouldn’t even be here to begin with. Hell, she saved my ass on more than one occasion. Meeting her changed all of our lives. I wouldn’t be the man I am today if it weren’t for her. And I’m sure if you asked any of those who have been with her from the beginning, they would all say the same thing. She had a way of changing people, you know? Raise them up to their full potential. Make them great.

To Shepard, every life was important, and every loss, however small in the grand scale of events, took a toll on her. She suffered for every man, woman and child she could not save, she cried for the colonies in the Bahak system, spent hours dwelling on all those turians, krogan, asari, and any other races she could not help. She wanted to save everyone, you know? Each loss was dear to her. I watched her come undone, I watched her fall apart at the seams as every damn loss took a toll on her. She’d say that she would sleep when she was dead. I guess… I guess she can finally rest in peace now…”

Garrus paused, closed his eyes, and tried to steady himself. His voice had cracked on that last sentence. He had to take several deep breaths before he could continue. “Commander Shepard cared deeply for each and every life. Every day on the Normandy, she made rounds to make sure we were all okay. She knew every single crewmember by name, remembered all of their damn birthdays, knew who to ask about their mother’s health, or how their projects were coming along. She listened. It’s more than I can say for any of you.

In the end, the wellbeing of the galaxy came at the cost of her own life. And I can assure you that she never looked back. Her step never wavered. She never hesitated, even as she ran to almost certain death.” Garrus drew himself up to his full height and looked out onto the attendees, proud and resolute. He had to keep himself together and see this through to the end.

"So when you remember Shepard, don’t remember her as the human who saved the damn galaxy for you. Remember her for who she was: a person. A friend, a listening ear, a warm and caring individual. To some, even a lover. Remember her for the fun anecdotes we will one day tell you, for all the trouble we got into, all the regulations we broke for the greater good. Remember her for the destruction of the sushi restaurant, and the damn great party she threw before everything went to the dogs. Remember her as the person who helped everyone she could, and would have helped even more if only she could have. Don’t reduce her to an icon. It would be an insult to the person. An insult to my best friend on the damn universe. And that is not an insult I would ever forgive. Thank you.”

With that, Garrus turned around to look at the casket behind him and saluted. “It’s been an honor, Shepard. We had one hell of a ride. I’ll meet you at the bar.” his voice cracked again, his mandibles snapped tight to his face. He held the salute, eyes closed, for a while, still feeling all eyes pinned on him, the silence almost sepulchral. Then, he turned away and, holding himself high and proud, he returned to his seat.

Later. He would have time to mourn later.


End file.
